Didn't We Almost Have It All
by Mrs.LongbottomMalfoy
Summary: The envelope laid heavy in Maya Hunter's lap as she sat on the subway and her mind races back to the past.
1. Chapter 1

_"Hi. I'm Maya."_

 _"Of course I like you."_

 _"You can't hurt me, can you?"_

 _"Go find Riley."_

Maya Hunter found herself lost in her thoughts again as she looked down at her lap. The envelope lay heavy in her lap as she her mind raced to the past. To this exact spot just ten years earlier. When Riley first set eyes on Lucas.

She could still remember every piece of that moment.

Even the way he smelt.

But that didn't matter anymore. Maya lost how many times she stepped back for her best friend. She always would. Because she's Maya Hunter. And her best friend was Riley Matthews.

For now.

She knew once she opened this envelope, it would be closer to Friar than she would have liked it to have been.

Maya snapped her head up, looking around at the empty seats and all at once. Memories on memories of Lucas filled her mind.

Lucas and Maya seeing a scary movie together because it started at 10.

Lucas and Maya going to the hospital at the same time for Katy and Shawn Hunter's twin boys being born.

Lucas and Maya.

Lucas and Maya.

Lucas and Maya.

Something that she couldn't think of saying anymore. Something that wouldn't bring a smile to her face like it used to. Something that would only bring her dread.

She was in love with her best friend's fiance.

She probably always would be.

Maya looked back to her phone as it lit up, a new message from Farkle.

 **Bar on 24th is doing a karaoke contest. come down. FM**

Maya sighed as she looked through her phone to try to find a song to sing and try to win money. But her eyes wandered back from the envelope from Texas. She slowly opened her eyes automatically started to sting.

 ** _Topanga Lawrence-Matthews and Cornelius Alan Matthews invite you to the wedding of their daughter Riley Ameila Matthews to Lucas Tristan Friar on June 28th 2022._**

Maya quickly shoved the invitation back in to her purse as she left the empty subway.

The one with all over memories with her best friend.

Her best friend's fiance.

Maya wiped the rain off of her face as she hugged Farkle tightly when she walked into the bar. The bartender quickly called her up and the young girl looked up and walked to the stage. She wasn't expecting Riley and Lucas to walk in at the moment and her stomach sank. But quick did she put a smile to her face.

She took a deep breath and looked out to the crowd and then her eyes settled on the man she could never haven.

"Tonight I'm singing a song by Whitney Houston." She said, swallowing hard. "A song that has been helping me through a lot lately. It's called 'Didn't we almost have it all?'"


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas Friar had no idea what he was doing on a plane to go back to New York for a surprise visit before he became a married man. Riley had convinced him it would be good to see the gang before the wedding festivities in just a few short months. He smiled widely when they made it into the bar. Hopefully it would just be him and Riley and Farkle. But of course he couldn't be so lucky.

There she was.

All blonde and all beauty.

He swallowed hard as he looked up to meet her eyes when her own were searching for his.

He didn't think it would hurt this much to see her after two Maya free years.

He didn't think his heart would hurt as much.

Or his head would hurt.

His thoughts telling him he did everything wrong.

Hell. Even Pappy Joe told him he did.

 _It was the summer after the triangle ended that he went down to Texas alone. He was sitting with his grandfather by the very same fire pit that changed his entire perspective of life._

 _"You wanna tell me what the hell happened?" Pappy asked as he looked over the young Friar._

 _Lucas looked up. "What do you mean?"_

 _"You called me up. Tellin' me you made up yer mind. That ya know who you was gonna choose to end the triangle. And then you call me up two weeks later to tell me ya chose her best friend. The one you hardly talked about on the phone with me. The one you described as a 'pretty brunette'. Not a blonde beauty. Not someone who tests you every day. " Pappy explained._

 _Lucas opened his mouth before he looked down. "She...Josh..."_

 _"Now from what I understand what Josh did was manipulate her to get his own way. Which doesn't sound like the rest of the Matthews." Pappy explained._

 _"No. She told me she didn't have any feelings for me." Lucas said. Almost defeated when he spoke the words._

 _Pappy closed his eyes. "Yer so dumb boy. I knew that girl was in love with ya from the moment I walked into yer classroom. From the moment you said you felt something change between the two of you. Ya know that yer Gammy June did the same exact thing to me. Gettin' in my face and saying things to try to piss me off and I never did."_

 _Lucas looked down. "don't compare me and Maya to you and Gammy. You and Gammy are soul mates and I...no. No."_

 _Pappy sighed loudly, "You done did fucked up."_

Riley gave Lucas a bright smile. "She sings so pretty."

Lucas nodded. "She does." He murmured as he watched her and swallowed hard. He knew it was for him. Because it was true. They did almost have it all. And he was the reason everything went to shit.

Riley twirled her engagement ring and sighed as she looked down.

Lucas closed his eyes as he listened to the lyrics and frowned a little.

Once Maya got off the stage, Lucas was quick to be beside her. "Maya." He said softly.

Maya looked up and shook her head. "No. I'm not going to talk to you right now. Or ever. I'll be at your wedding and then I'll be out of your hair. "

Lucas' entire world shattered. "Maya..." He said.

But it was too late.

Maya Hunter left the bar.


	3. Chapter 3

Riley Matthews watched her fiancée walk off to find her best friend. And she felt the familiar pang in her heart.

Lucas going after Maya.

Maya going after Lucas.

Maya and Lucas having their own little secrets.

Everything that went down in Texas.

She shook her head as she sipped at her glass of wine and looked down.

Farkle was fast to notice the change in the normally bubbly Riley. He would never understand why Lucas was toying Riley around when he knew. He knew who Lucas chose. He knew the truth.

But he chose Riley in the end.

"Look at me." Farkle said.

Riley slowly looked up as she sighed. "I shouldn't be feeling like this. I'm marrying him in 3 months. Farkle...why do I feel like this. "

Farkle frowned as he looked down.

 _Riley quickly called Farkle after Lucas proposed. He was busy talking to his Mama. She would have called Maya. But Maya had become so distant since Riley moved to Texas._

 _Farkle answered the phone and frowned a little. "Is everything okay?"_

 _Riley smiled widely. "Everything is more than okay. Farkle...he proposed."_

 _She waited for what seemed like hours for Farkle to finally say something._

 _"Oh."_

 _One sylablle. That's all he spoke before he cleared his throat._

 _"I'm so happy for you, Riley." Farkle said. It sounded so forced._

 _But Riley chose to ignore it. She just smiled and admired the ring on her left hand._

 _"It's his Gammy's ring and it's so perfect." Riley said before she looked down. "Have you heard from her?"_

 _Farkle swallowed. "Yeah. She's been singing a few karaoke nights. Painting on the bricks and on canvas."_

 _Riley nodded. She would never understand why her best friend, her sister, would ignore her just because she moved to another state._

Riley looked down at her hands before she finished her glass. "Farkle..."

Farkle shook his head. "He chose you. He chose you at the ski lodge. He chose you with the jellybean. He chose you to marry. He chose Maya fir-" He stopped himself as he looked down. "Fuck."

Riley snapped her head up. "He chose Maya?" She asked quickly as she got up. "He chose Maya. So why...she.." She sat down and ran a hand over her face. "She stepped back?"

Farkle nodded slowly. "She did." He murmured.

Riley got up. Grabbed her purse and her coat as she walked out of the bar. Maya was probably out smoking a cigarette to calm her nerves. In alleyways all alone in New York. She kept walking around alleys until she heard voices.

Her best friend's voice.

Her fiancee's voice.

"Of course I'm serious. I'm not going to sit back and watch you two be all happy dory while I'm alone." Maya spat as she light her cigarette.

Lucas slapped it out of her hand. "You're gonna ruin your health and your voice." He said as he looked down.

Maya frowned. "Why do you care?"

Lucas looked up. "Because you're Maya. One of the most important people in my life."

Maya shook her head. "You're gonna marry her. And be happy and forget about me. I'm gonna get left. Yet again so why don't you just go ahead and leave. " She snapped. "Like every other man in my life. "

Lucas stayed quiet as he looked down.

Neither could hear Riley coming down the alley.

"Why are you so upset?" Lucas asked.

Maya laughed bitterly. "Why do you think?"

Lucas swallowed hard. "Say it."

"I'm not gonna say it!" Maya said.

Lucas raised a brow.

Maya looked down. "Of course I'm upset you're here. Of course I'm upset seeing my best friend with the guy..."

Lucas hummed as he waited for her to finish.

Maya sighed loudly. "Of course I'm upset seeing my best friend being engaged to the guy I'm in love with."


	4. Chapter 4

Farkle's heart sunk when he heard those words leave Maya's mouth. He knew. He always knew. He could always tell when someone was in love with someone else. The look in their eyes. The way they talked to the person who they were in love with. They way they would be around the other person.

He knew.

And he's always known that Maya was never over Lucas.

It would always be hard for her to get over him. He knows she's tried. But then she sees him and she's fallen hard all over and over again.

It was like he swept the rug under from her.

Farkle was fast to wrap his arms around Riley as she just stood there as Maya and Lucas looked into each other's eyes like there was nothing else going on in the world.

He was fast to clear his throat.

And the two blondes jumped off of each other.

 _Farkle was laying in Maya's bed with her. Her head in his chest as tears ran down her face. She had been numb since Riley sent her a picture of her engagement ring._

 _Maya sniffled a little. "Don't tell her."_

 _Farkle nodded. "Of course I won't."_

 _Maya wiped her face. "It shouldn't hurt this much. He was never mine."_

 _Farkle frowned. "He could have been if I never said anything at New Years."_

 _Maya looked up as she frowned a little. "You can't blame yourself."_

 _"I just. I know how it feels to watch..." Farkle mumbled._

 _Maya sat up. "You're still in love with Riley..."_

Farkle pulled Riley away from the alley. "Cmon. We are going to my apartment." He said softly.

He knew he had to get her away from them. From everything. Maya would do this for him. Whenever Riley and Lucas became too lovey dovey. When he took their engagement pictures. When Riley found her wedding dress and showed it to him.

Riley looked up a little. "Why?" She asked softly.

Farkle sighed. "No one will ever understand love. Ever."

Riley looked down a little. "Have you ever been in love?"

Farkle looked at her and smiled. "I have."

Riley nodded. "Smackle and you were really good together. "

Farkle frowned a little. "I...yeah. We were."

Lucas snapped his head up. "Fuck.." He breathed.

Maya closed her eyes tightly. "I..I fucked up." she murmured. "Oh my god. She's gonna hate me." She murmured.

Lucas shook his head. "No I won't let her hate you." He murmured. "She needs you more than me. "

Maya leaned against Lucas and frowned. "Bullshit. She loves you. She makes you happy. She...I don't know. She's your fucking soulmate and you don't need to lose her."

Lucas frowned. "You're her best friend."

Maya looked down. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like enough. "


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Alright. So /I've been getting alot of hate on this fic for awhile. And I'm going to carify some things.**

 **1) If you honestly want to write a negative review, do it without calling yourself a guest. If you really want to be mean in my reviews, then tell me who you are. Don't hide.**

 **2) to answer some of your questions, I know it seems like it's bad that Lucas and Maya still have feelings for each other and that he's 'dragging' Riley along. Well. I don't know about you, but when I've been in love, it has taken** ** _years_** **to get over the person. And I did date other people to see if I could move on easier. One relationship got so real so fast that he even had me as his emergency contact and he wanted me to move in with him. It's a shitty way to try to get over someone. But sometimes it works. And sometimes it doesn't.**

 **3) Please understand there is a method to my madness**

 **4) I should have you all know that I do listen to one song on endless repeat until I finish each chapter. Chapter 1 was obviously** ** _Didn't We Almost Have it All?_** **by Whitney Houston. Chapter 2 was** ** _This Town_** **by Niall. Chapter 3 was** ** _Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough_** **. Chapter 4 was** ** _When I Was Your Man_** **Cover by Boyce Avenue. And this chapter is** ** _Behind These Hazel Eyes_** **By Kelly Clarkson.**

Maya ran a hand through her long blonde locks as she started to walk away from the alley. Leaving Lucas in the dark. He knew better than to follow after her.

But she should know better than to think that her and Riley were irreplaceable.

Or she hoped they were.

Of course they were. They were sister. Best friends. Thunder and Lightning. Honey and Peaches.

Soul mates in best friend form.

All Maya did was walk to the apartment complex the Matthews' still resided in. She climbed the familiar fire escape to the bay window. Where she knew Riley would be.

She knocked on the window three times when she saw her best friend.

Engagement ring off.

Tears down her face.

Farkle laying in her bed as he tried to talk to her.

Riley slowly opened the window and Maya climbed in. Much like those days so long ago.

"Riles.." Maya started.

Riley looked up with bloodshot eyes. "What?" She snapped.

Maya closed her eyes. "Can I please explain myself. "

"Explain how you're going to take Lucas away from me?" Riley asked as she wiped her face.

Maya was fast to shake her head. "I'm not going to take him from you. That's the last thing I want to do."

Riley looked down and swallowed hard as she nodded so slow, Maya almost didn't see it.

Maya took a deep breath. "Remember how scared my mom was when Angela came back into the bakery? How all the hope drained from her face when she saw how soft Dad's face went? When she thought she lost him forever?"

Riley looked up. "You lost hope for awhile that day, too."

Maya nodded. "Because we both knew it take a long time to fall out of love with someone. Mom and Kermit were together from ages fifteen to twenty-two, when dad left. I came into the picture when mom was seventeen and everything was going so great. Until the fighting started. Until Kermit hit us. Until he hid money and I ate here more often, because Kermit spent all the money on alcohol and cigarettes. Not on us. Not on his family. "

Riley frowned. "Maya..."

Maya wiped her face. She didn't even realize she had been crying. "And even though he openly cheated on my mom. Even though he hit us and starved us, mom loved him. She loved him because he was the only person she had ever been in love with. And even after he left us, she was still so in love with him. Because he was Kermit Hart, her high school sweetheart. She finally started to move on when we were around eleven. But it ended so bad. Her date was terrible. So she swore off men. And then walks in Shawn Patrick Hunter to the diner. And she had hope again. Not for herself. But for me. Because I could have a _dad_ again. And that's all she wanted for me. Was me to have a complete family and not a broken one. "

Riley smiled. "And she got that."

Maya nodded. "We both got it. And we got Carter and George from it. But that's...Riley . My mom cried herself to sleep because she was in love with a man who didn't care about us. It took her seven years to not cry herself to sleep. And that's when I realized, _mom wasn't in love with Kermit anymore_. And I was s happy. Because hearing her cry night after night nearly killed me. " She said softly. "Even though he left, she didn't get over him. Even when he hit us, she didn't get over him. Riley. It takes so fucking long for someone to get over someone else."

Riley closed her eyes for a moment. "Have you even tried?"

Maya closed her eyes tightly as she nodded. "I have tried everything to get over him! I dated Zay and Josh and Billy and so many other guys to try to and I can't!" She said as tears ran freely down her face. "I can't get over him and I hate myself for it. Because you two were supposed to get together and I was just supposed to be the best friend who roots for you in the background. "

Riley looked down. "So how are you going to get over him? I'm marrying him in three months. "

Each word was a dagger to Maya's vulnerable heart.

Maya looked down. "And I'll live with that for the rest of my life. Because I'm not...going to come between you two. I've done it enough."

Farkle frowned. "Maya you didn't. Riley stepped back in Texas."

Maya closed her eyes. "Sometimes I wish my mother never let me go to Texas." She said softly as she looked down. "Riley. This is what I'm going to do. And you're going to take it, or leave it."

Riley looked up slowly. A look of confusion on her face.

Maya took her hands. "I love you. I love you more than I love anything else in the world that isn't my brothers. But you need to know that I can't be around him and have all those feelings come back. So. What I am going to do is go to your wedding. Be your maid of honor. Party like no other at your reception. And then I'm going to leave. I'm going to leave and never come back in either of your lives. Not even Farkle's. Because that's what's best for this...too long of a triangle. It's best for one part to leave and not look back."


End file.
